1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermally insulating member and, more particularly, to a structure of a thermally insulating member providing an excellent thermally insulating effect such that a container with high temperature is able to be held via the thermally insulating member.
2. Description of the Related Art
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional thermally insulating member 9 includes a sheet. Two ends of the sheet are adapted to couple with each other, so the thermally insulating member 9 can form a cyclic structure. The sheet of the thermally insulating member 9 mainly includes a wavy thermally insulating layer 91 and a surface layer 92. The thermally insulating layer 91 is bonded to the surface layer 92 by an adhesive.
In use of the conventional thermally insulating member 9, it is wrapped around an outer periphery of a container C. The thermally insulating layer 91 abuts against the outer periphery of the container C, and the surface layer 92 allows a user to hold the thermally insulating member 9. Since the thermally insulating layer 91 is wavy, the thermally insulating layer 91 is in discontinuous contact with the outer periphery of the container C to reduce direct transmission of the high temperature from the contents in the container C to the thermally insulating member 9. Thus, if the temperature of the contents inside the container C is high or the container C is heated by a heating device such as a microwave, the user can directly hold the thermally insulating member 9 to avoid scalding by the high temperature of contents in the container C, providing the user with convenience while holding the container C.
Although the conventional thermally insulating member 9 can insulate the high temperature of contents in the container C, the thermally insulating effect of the thermally insulating member 9 is mainly provided by reducing the contact area between the thermally insulating layer 91 and the container C by discontinuous contact. However, the thermally insulating layer 91 of the thermally insulating member 9 is wavy and, thus, contacts with the container C by a strip-shaped area, which is still relatively large. Besides, the insulating layer 91 is in adhesion the surface layer 92 and, thus, provides a limited thermally insulating effect. Once the contact time between the insulating member 9 and the container C is too long, the high temperature of the contents in the container C will be transmitted to the surface layer 92 via the insulating layer 91, eventually. Namely, the thermally insulating effect of the conventional thermally insulating member 9 should be improved.
Furthermore, with reference to FIG. 1, the conventional thermally insulating member 9 is in a flattened state when not in use. To avoid the loss of the thermally insulating effect of the thermally insulating layer 91, the wavy shape of the thermally insulating layer 91 must not be destroyed no matter in the storage or transportation state. Thus, the conventional thermally insulating member 9 occupies a considerable space in storage or during transportation. Particularly, the large volume of the conventional thermally insulating member 9 results in a high transportation cost and causes high storage costs to persons using the thermally insulating member 9.
Thus, how to provide a thermally insulating member that is low cost in use while providing an excellent thermally insulating effect is a problem to be solved by the manufacturers of the thermally insulating members.